Friday, July 13, 2007

Marriage Records

Marriage Records

So...are you searching for the marriage record of an ancestor? Marriage records can help you find the date of their marriage. Sometimes, the couple was given a copy of the marriage record. You may find by simply going through their papers. For the genealogist, the marriage record could contain the names of parents, dates and places of birth of the bride and groom, relatives who appeared as witnesses or bondsmen, places of residence, and clues to religious affiliation.

Marriage information can be found in various ways. Some early marriage records have been indexed and placed on CDs.

There are also printed sources. Many statewide marriage publications are in book form.

Several Family Tree Maker CD-ROMs contain statewide marriage records and indexes including those for the states of Georgia, Arkansas, California, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Texas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia, these are mainly prior to 1850.

Once you have located your ancestor on these indexes, you should always obtain a copy of the original document in order to find other clues which the original might contain (such as the religious affiliation of the couple which could lead to church records of children, burial records, and other documents).

Marriage Records

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